Government Measures to Reduce Gun Violence

Date: October 23, 2020

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED

Branch/Agency: CSCCB/ Public Safety

If pressed on buyback:

If pressed on additional gun control measures:

Background:

Budget 2018 invested up to $327.6M over five years to establish The Initiative to Take Action against Gun and Gang Violence (ITAAGGV). It is a horizontal initiative led by Public Safety Canada (PS) with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the RCMP.

The majority of financial resources, approximately $222M over five years, are allocated to provinces and territories (PTs), under the Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund (GGVAF), to combat the issue of gun and gang violence in communities across Canada by distributing to partners within their jurisdiction that can help:

In 2020-21, the bulk of the funding provided to PS is Vote 5 (Grants and Contributions), totaling approximately $46.3M, that includes $44.2M for the GGVAF and $2.1M for the Youth Gang Prevention Fund. PS also receives Vote 1 (O&M) funding of approximately $2.5M to administer the grants and contributions, conduct research and enhance federal leadership in addressing gun and gang violence.

2020-21 Allocation of GGVAF Funding

Province

2019-2020

2020-2021

Length of Agreement

Date Signed

Newfoundland

 $             162,233

 $             380,786

5-yr Agreement

March 21, 2019

Prince Edward Island

 $                  - *

 $             387,316

Pending

-

Nova Scotia

 $             416,269

 $             977,051

5-yr Agreement

March 6, 2019

New Brunswick

 $             238,406

 $             559,577

5-yr Agreement

March 19, 2019

Quebec

 $          8,100,748

 $          9,635,901

4-yr Agreement

November 6, 2019

Ontario

 $           9,377,756**

 $        13,533,928

5-yr Agreement

December 10, 2019

Manitoba

 $           1,174,313

 $          2,756,304

5-yr Agreement

February 4, 2020

Saskatchewan

 $           1,046,695

 $          2,456,764

5-yr Agreement

March 1, 2019

Alberta

 $           4,684,258

 $          6,166,714

5-yr Agreement

March 19, 2020

British Columbia

 $           2,686,047

 $          6,304,591

5-yr Agreement

January 21, 2019

Yukon

 $              198,018

 $             464,780

5-yr Agreement

December 21, 2018

Northwest Territories

 $              198,018

 $             464,780

5-yr Agreement

March 19, 2019

Nunavut

 $              198,018

 $             464,780

5-yr Agreement

February 21, 2019

Total

 $        28,480,778

 $        44,165,957*

*does not include PEI total
** Includes carryover funds from year 1

Twelve PTs have signed multi-year funding agreements under the GGVAF. Prince Edward Island is currently engaged in the signature process for their contribution agreement. Jurisdictions have prioritized a number of initiatives including:

The Canada Border Services Agency

$51.2M is provided to the CBSA over five years to enhance their capacity to stem the flow of inadmissible travellers and illegal firearms from entering Canada at vulnerable points of entry and through processing postal facilities. In 2020-21, the CBSA will receive $30.8M to invest in the deployment of additional Detector Dog Teams, the construction and finalization of the All Weather Facility, the pilot and training stages of the Advanced Vehicle Concealment course, as well as procured and installed equipment (e.g. handheld devices, vehicles, trace detection tools etc.) to enhance air cargo security and pallet imaging.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

$34.5M over five years is provided to the RCMP, with $5.4M in 2020-21, to support the new Integrated Criminal Firearms Initiative (ICFI) which expands the services available to law enforcement by enhancing several capabilities to better combat the use of illegal firearms and improve the national collection, analysis and sharing of firearms-related intelligence and information. More specifically, the ICFI includes new resources to:

Designing a Buyback Program: Request for Proposal and Way Forward

In August 2020, Public Safety Canada published a Request for Proposal (RFP) seeking professional services for the development of advice on options and approaches to inform firearms pricing models, as well as the design, implementation and management of a buyback program for recently prohibited firearms. The original RFP closed on September 9. Unfortunately, the bid evaluation process did not yield to the identification of a winning bidder. This is an unfortunate yet not uncommon outcome in the sphere of public procurement. Public Safety has redeveloped the RFP based on extensive consultations with the Industry, and is prepared to launch a new RFP the week of October 13. This should lead to a contract award sometime in the late November timeframe.

The RFP is built in two phases. The first focuses on developing pricing and compensation models and design options. The second, determined through a task authorization process, will focus on the implementation, while the exact tasks and scope will be further refined with the successful contractor and will be based upon the outcomes of phase 1. Overseeing the storage, transportation and destruction of confiscated firearms would not be services covered under the current RFP. The contractor is expected to complete extensive research in order to develop various options required under the contract, and may be privy to some personal information. To that extent, the security clearance requirements have been established accordingly.

The cost for phase 1 of the contract will be negotiated with the successful supplier and will be available after the contract is awarded. The cost for the second phase of the work will be determined once the specific tasks are defined.

Both Public Safety Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police will be ready to work with and assist the winning bidder to advance its work as expeditiously as possible.

Contacts:

Prepared by: [Redacted]
Prepared by: [Redacted]
Approved by: [Redacted]

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